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London - Together It Works: An Economic Plan that Works for Everyone

$5.5-billion plan to help today and build for tomorrow

Attention: Assignment Editor, Media Editor, News Editor, Government/Political Affairs Editor
TORONTO (FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)--(Marketwire - March 16, 2009) - The Ontario government has the power and the opportunity to implement a four-point plan to help people and industries snared in the jobs and economic crisis, says the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL).

In London today, flanked by local labour leaders, OFL president Wayne Samuelson laid out a $5.5-billion plan to maintain Ontario's industrial base, support public services, provide relief to people who really need it and invest in infrastructure to create jobs and put Ontario on a sustainable path.

TOGETHER IT WORKS: AN ECONOMIC PLAN THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE includes a call for government to bring together the business community, trade unions and community representatives to ensure creative, efficient and timely solutions.

"The recession is deepening and affecting more and more people each day. We are calling on our provincial government and everyone in Ontario to help us get this plan working. Time is of the essence," says Samuelson.

According to the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey, released March 13, 2009 - 83,000 Canadian jobs have been lost in February, 40% of those losses were in Ontario with 35,000 more jobs lost. The unemployment rate of 8.7% is the highest it has been since 1997. The job losses have spread well beyond the manufacturing sector into construction and other support services.

As the effects of the global meltdown take deeper hold on the province of Ontario, pressure on public services will mount, says Samuelson. "We need to make sure those services are there when people need them the most."

The federal government has failed to provide the necessary stimulus and much-needed protection for the vulnerable, he said. He took aim at the government's refusal to make EI available to more people and to extend the benefit period for those who have lost their jobs.

"This economic crisis has underscored the critical role of government in society. Our province has to take bold action, and it has to take it now," says Samuelson.